From Microsoft Azure to everyone attending NAB Show 2018 — Welcome!

NAB Show is one of my favorites. The creativity, technology, content and storytelling are epic, as is the digital transformation well underway.

This transformation — driven by new businesses models, shifting consumption patterns and technology advancements — will change this great industry. What won’t change is the focus on creators and connecting their content with consumers around the world so they, too, can be a part of the story.

Microsoft’s mission is to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” We are committed to helping everyone in the industry — customers like Endemol Shine, UFA, Jellyfish and Reuters — do just that. With innovations across cloud storage, compute, CDN, Media Services and new investments in Avere Systems and Cycle Cloud, Microsoft Azure is ready to help modernize your media workflows and your business.

How? Well, queue scene…

Your productions are increasingly global and demanding. Azure can help.

Creators, media artists and innovators want to work together in a flexible, secure and collaborative way from wherever they are. More datacenters, in more regions of the world, than all competitors combined means the show can go on, everywhere. That means a film crew doing a car chase scene through the streets of Monaco can upload the day’s rough cuts into Azure, while dailies are viewed by editors in Hollywood. Bollywood. Or a beach house in Malibu.

Increasing content resolution levels from 4K to 8K means increased production and post-production data storage requirements. Virtual Reality, predicted to go as high as 16K (the resolution of the human eye!), and 360° viewing formats will push those requirements even higher. Azure can help with pay-for-what-you-use storage options, from High Performance SSD to Archive Storage, at an industry-leading price — leaving you more time and budget to get the scene ‘right’.

Similarly, sophisticated new VFX, VR and rendering technologies mean increased compute requirements. With Azure, you get all the CPU and GPU processing power you need, for as long as you need, only paying for what you use. Low Priority VMs and Reserved Instances provide flexible ways to maximize your compute budget. Azure Cycle Cloud can be used to orchestrate the workflows, storage and compute of jobs in Azure and provide critical compliance and governance support. Avere Systems, a new member of the Microsoft Azure team, takes this one step further with industry-leading options that accelerate the performance of your storage, regardless of location.

You need to store today’s productions, every production ever made and every creative idea. Who knows when you’ll need them again? And you need to discover, identify and tag content — quickly, easily and automatically.

With Azure’s global scale and convenient storage tiers, you can store your content at the right cost, close to where you need it. It’s a cost-effective solution for your exabytes of tape-based media archives. In fact, our partners make it easy to move your data into Azure from almost any media — tapes, optical drives, hard disks or film. Check our Offline Media Import website for more details.

When you move your media to the cloud, you can analyze it with Cognitive Services and benefit from Microsoft’s AI platform. These services can automatically transcribe speech — making dialog searchable — or comb through mounds of archived video and audio to find content featuring a certain actress or actor.

You can reach global audiences more easily and gain new insights with Azure + Microsoft AI

As content is delivered, Azure’s advanced analytics and Microsoft’s AI platform go to work to discover insights that help you segment audiences, create personalized experiences and influence production and editorial decisions.

To help bring your production to life, a broad ecosystem awaits

You’ll have access to partner solutions spanning dailies, editorial, VFX, color correction, OTT, playout and more. Check out Sudheer’s blog to learn which partners and product features we’ve added since last year’s IBC.

While the digital transformation of this industry is well underway, it’s far from over

Click here for a sneak peek into our not-too-distant future, brought to you by Microsoft Azure and our partners.

If you’re attending NAB Show 2018, we hope to see you! Stop by our booth SL6716 to: